


Feathers across the Seasons

by XetterYeonma (keusenon)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Based on a Vocaloid Song, Edo Period, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-09-18 07:55:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9375422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keusenon/pseuds/XetterYeonma
Summary: The everlasting wintersThe birthing springsThe torrent summersand the change of autumnsLove never ceased as the crow grew to love a human.{ a 4 chapter piece writing of the pairing Kageyama Tobio x Kozume Kenma based off the song Shikiori no Hane }





	1. Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The falling powder snow  
> Dyes the ridge of the mountains white  
> In a dilapidated house in an abandoned village,  
> we huddled together on a winter's night

              Kenma walked down the snowy pathway, shivering in the cold as he grumbled about how winters near the mountains were always damn cold. The snow was heavy from above and below, the crunch of his shoes as they stepped on snow as loud as it possibly could be.

              The cries of a crow distracted him from his usual internal rambling, noticing a crow stuck within a hunter’s snare as it pathetically bit at the grip that confined it to the ground. It seemed to have grown tired, lying against the snow with sorrowful crowing.

              Watching the way it struggled made Kenma feel empathy for the abandoned crow, approaching it and putting his wooden bag down.

“…”

              He was quiet as he gently rubbed the crow’s head. The crow looked back at it and cawed loudly, trying to escape from Kenma’s hands. He couldn’t really blame the crow, as it was trying its’ best to survive.

              Kenma waited for the crow to grow tired again or for it to realize Kenma was not going to kill it. Once the crow had finally calmed down, Kenma approached it again and released its’ talon from the rope with a knife he held in his hand. Once it was freed, it looked into Kenma’s eyes as if to give thanks before taking flight.

Kenma watched as the crow’s black feathers became beautiful in the pure white snow that was falling that day.

* * *

              The powder-like snow fell on top of the thatched roof. The grounds outside of the old home within the small mountain village were covered in pure, white snow that fell from the night sky. Within the old home were two young men, huddled close together to avoid the cold near the lit hearth.

              Kageyama sat close by Kenma, watching Kenma’s eyes reflect the gentle fires before looking back at the pot filled with a mild soup to keep them warm in the cold, snow-ridden season. His jet black hair shone a dark brown colour in the light of the fire, his yukata sprawled on the ground that he sat upon.

A few years had passed since Kageyama had come to live with Kenma.

              Kenma sat back from the hearth, sitting closer beside the taller man with his eyes closed in a soft sigh. Kageyama yawned just a bit before looking down, seeing as Kenma went into a zen-like state before looking up towards Kageyama.

“…You can rest on my shoulder, Tobio.”

              Kenma patted his shoulder, Kageyama nodding his head and resting his tired head on the shoulder of his elder.

              They were close after a couple of years being in each other’s presence. Kageyama eventually had come to live with the lonely man when they met. In a village of such few people and an isolate world from the rest of Japan, it was a silly decision.

Even so, he had his reasons.

“…The weather reminds me when you first came here.” Kenma whispers, staring into the fire with tired and cold eyes.

“Does it?” Kageyama asked softly, curling his fingers in the fabric of the reddish yukata that Kenma wore.

“Mhm… You came to my house all covered in snow, shivering with nothing but just your yukata and a cloth over your head. It almost looked like you were about to freeze to death if I didn’t let you in.”

              Kageyama stared into the fire, remembering how his cold fingers were held by Kenma’s gentle and warm ones at that night. The way his face showed merely an iceberg’s tip of worry while he covered Kageyama in new cloth with a newly lit hearth, he could never forget how his kindness saved him.

“…You still wore your outdoor clothes, right?”

“Yeah… I never asked what you were doing.”

Kenma hummed before responding. “I was visiting a friend in a neighbouring village…it was a hassle, but at least I got to see him again after he left the village for Edo.”

              He fell silent as he hid his face into Kenma’s shoulder, soon falling asleep after the small banter. Kenma grumbled softly to himself about how heavy Kageyama was as well as how easily he seemed to fall asleep when warm, but promptly dragged the younger man away from the hearth into where they slept daily in the nights.

              Pulling the futon out and shoving Kageyama into the soft mattress, he went back to throw the ashes onto the hearth to put out the fire before going back to the sleeping room. He slipped in beside Kageyama, yawning and pulling the heavy blanket over them before sleep overtook Kenma in the warmth of another person as well as the comfort of the blanket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "When we first met, it was snowing",  
> you murmured, smiling  
> I hid my hearth-lit face  
> in the shadow of your big sleeve.


	2. Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a breath of joy,  
> I sang of spring’s arrival along with the chirping birds  
> “Your voice is beautiful,” you told me,  
> and that alone, just those words, made me so happy

              Kageyama watched as the pink petals fell from the trees around the house, landing on the greenery of the grass. It created a place that resembled paintings that were made by only the greatest of artisans. He breathed in the fresh spring air, his hands resting from weaving baskets all morning. The sun kissed his skin like a thousand butterflies, sending warmth throughout his body.

“Tobio, do you wanna take a break?”

              Kenma’s voice broke his focus for a moment, the younger man looking towards Kenma. His hands were moving swiftly as the wind, finishing baskets almost twice as fast as Kageyama was. With a soft sigh, Kenma stopped before leaning back on the wooden floor and let his feet dangle off the short edge.

“…I can’t believe they broke last night…”

“…Sorry.” Kageyama murmured.

“It’s fine…just…” Kenma groaned before sitting back up. “…Remember to take the baskets inside next time, okay?”

              Kageyama nodded, knowing that Kenma’s eyes were staring at him at that moment. He normally could feel his gaze now, having lived with him for so long.

              With the baskets put to the side, the two of them begun walking around the field. They watched as the crops swayed side to side little by little. The grass around their home danced in the wind with the cherry blossom petals swirling in the wind as if magic were about to appear in front of them.

              The singing of the birds in the trees as they passed by begun to sing of the morning’s minuet, signalling the season of birth around those whom can hear their chirps and cries that melted into a melody that of only birds could replicate.

              Kageyama’s piercing eyes watched the birds freely sing around them, slowly walking towards a tree and craning his neck slightly to view them closer. Kenma watched from not too far where Kageyama was, brushing some of his hair back to avoid it getting in the way of his view too much.

              His ears listened to the repeating melody and harmonies that the birds provided, a single petal of pink resting on top of his head, near where a small cowlick was pointing towards the right side of his face. Instinctively, Kageyama opened his lips and begun following the birds’ cries with his own voice.

              Kenma enjoyed how Kageyama’s voice sometimes falter to match how it sounds with the birds, the key being off for a few seconds before adjusting it to the perfect pitch. Even with these little imperfections in the beginning, it sounded like a symphony that belonged to only them and the birds that lived near their old home.

“ _Haru no otozure o~ Ibuki no yorokobi saezuru tori-tachi to utau~_ ”

              A smile crept itself onto Kenma’s face as he watched Kageyama sing, closing his eyes and letting the wind be his only sensation of touch at the moment, the whistle of a breeze accompanying the voice that came out of the younger male. The two of them were lost in a world of nature’s beauty and man’s company. Kenma opened his eyes after a while before approaching Kageyama, brushing some of the hair out of his eyes. The taller man looked towards Kenma, ceasing his singing for a moment to focus on Kenma.

“You really have a pretty voice.”

              Simple and minimal words were all that Kageyama needed to blush, turning his head away and murmuring something between the lines of thanks as well as a bit of embarrassment.

              Kageyama had a strong connection to the world around them when it came to nature, Kenma knew that. It was a connection as if Kageyama had just sprouted out of the grounds or from an animal itself.

What a silly thought.

* * *

              Kenma rested on the lap of Kageyama, resting his head for a moment. The sun was beginning its’ descent into a sunset, shining its’ rays onto the world for the last few hours of the day when it was still in the sky before the moon would replace it. The blue skies turned slightly orange, accompanying the colours of the sun.

              Kageyama was gazing at the sky, watching the silhouettes of birds fly across the skies above them with the character of freedom engraved into their hearts. Kenma rested with his eyes closed; breathing out softly as the silence around them merely sat with them rather than suffocate them like their first few weeks and months of their fateful encounter.

Small talk soon arrived once Kenma found another companion for the moment; boredom.

“We barely use the loom anymore…we should probably give it away.”

“Maybe we should keep it, Kenma.”

“…Probably. I doubt anyone in this village wants to have a loom anyways.”

              They weren’t artisans, merely villagers with their own way of life. Their intimacy was limited when around others, but when they were alone then it was fine to share the close bond they had together.

“Do you think anyone knows about us?”

“Other than the fact we live together, probably very little if anything…”

“What about Kuroo-san?” Kageyama murmured, brushing some of Kenma’s hair behind his ear. His eyes met with Kenma’s when they opened, staring at each other for a moment.

 “He doesn’t mind, I suppose. He seems comfortable when he visits.”

              Silence soon overtook them, the two of them looking at each other in silence before Kageyama frowned, taking his hand away and spoke in a soft voice.

“Would you still love me even if I didn’t have a pretty voice?”

              Kenma looked bewildered for a moment before scoffing, sitting up. Kageyama flinched slightly at his reaction, wondering what Kenma would say before he felt a gentle hand in his own, a pair of lips meeting with his before he heard his answer.

“Of course I would.”

              It was Kageyama’s turn to be bewildered, seeing a hint of a smile as he felt Kenma’s other hand touch his cheek for a moment before the warm feeling had left.

“Let’s go finish the baskets. The sooner we’re done, the sooner we can go eat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “If someday, I no longer had this beautiful voice,  
> would you still, even then, love me?”  
> “Of course,” you said, smiling gently  
> as your large hand softly stroked my cheek


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On a summer afternoon, with the fresh leaves shining   
> You collapsed in illness   
> We were poor,   
> and couldn't obtain the medicine which would heal you
> 
> The next day, and the day after   
> I worked the loom relentlessly   
> I wouldn't let your life disappear   
> Like the fleeting leaves of fall

              Kageyama worked in the fields along with Kenma, the new blaze of the sun upon them. They worked in separate fields at the moment, Kageyama taking care of the left side while Kenma had been in the right side. The younger male sung to himself as he worked, copying the chirps of their avian neighbours that weaved themselves into a song.

              He looked behind him for a moment, watching as how Kenma himself worked on the fields. With incredible technique with the least amount of effort, as per usual. Kenma tended to barely even reach the point of sweat when he worked, and even if he did it was because of the heat of the summer air.

However, Kenma was working a bit slower than usual. Perhaps he was tired, considering he woke up late that day.

              Kageyama turned back to continue picking at the crops, placing them into his basket. The day was quiet aside from the voices of him and the birds around them. They dare not to steal their crops, Kageyama being a factor in that for his usually scary demeanor. At the very least, Kenma did not seem to mind his frightful aura out of anyone.

              The day went by fast, soon the afternoon drenching the world in an orange hue. Kageyama had actually been staring at the sky for a while, his hands holding a daikon radish he had pulled out from the ground before realizing that he was just staring at the sky.

He had missed the sensation of flight.

              Kageyama couldn’t spread his wings like he used to. Even so, he wouldn’t fly away from the home Kenma had given him as well as the love that he even graced him with. The rarity of Kenma’s smile kept him from leaving, and soon he found himself wrapped in his arms sooner than spring when winter began to melt.

              The man quickly put away the crops into the basket, placing it on top of the others and then carrying the bundles on his shoulders. He looked towards the field Kenma was working in, tilting his head as he didn’t see Kenma be there as per usual by their routine. Perhaps he just left earlier to make dinner, or was just sick of working all day. Kageyama didn’t think much of it as he begun making his way to the home.

              Kageyama didn’t take less than a few minutes getting to the home, knowing that it was close to the fields they’ve plowed themselves. They had enough to last for a while and they could start planting by tonight if they really wanted to. He thought about what they should plant until he arrived at the home.

His sight gathered a puddle of red surrounding black, and the sound of baskets breaking against the ground shattered the world around him.

* * *

 

              The rough coughing from Kenma was hard on Kageyama’s ears as he heard how much Kenma was suffering, red dripping from his lips as he had another fit in the matter of minutes. How long had Kenma been suffering from this illness? That thought swirled through Kageyama’s mind as he tended to Kenma during his waking moments, feeling his heart drop to his stomach. The village doctor had explained that it was curable, but only through medicine that was bought in Edo.

“I…I’m fine, okay? This is…nothing. I’ll get better on my own…”

              Kenma kept coughing as he tried to sit up, but the fit made him lay down in the futon that Kageyama set up for him to rest in.

“Kenma, please rest at least… I’ll make some dinner and wake you up when it’s ready.”

              The older male wanted to protest but he kept coughing, sighing to himself before closing his eyes.

“Okay... I’ll try and…sleep.”

              He murmured before he soon fell into a painful sleep, coughing here and there as his body fell into a deep sleep.

              Kageyama clenched his fists together, biting his lips as he thought about what to do. They were a poor pair of villagers in the small mountain village, the city of Edo having what they need. Even so, they couldn’t afford the items being sold in the market in Edo aside from things such as the cheapest fabrics of material they couldn’t possibly have in their village and even then, they barely had any currency on them. Medicine was out of the question.

That is, if they couldn’t make any currency.

              He pulled back his yukata, spreading his wing out from his shoulder as he looked at the healthy glow of the black feathers. He then looked at the room where they kept the loom, biting his lip before deciding on one thing.

He would create something to trade for the medicine, no matter what it took.

              Kageyama got up and walked quietly to the other room, staring at the loom before back to his feathers. Biting his lip, he closed the sliding door behind him before he made his resolve.

              Kneeling down in front of the loom, the man took a deep breath before grabbing a nearby cloth, stuffing it into his mouth until he felt the dry texture erase moisture from his tongue. Teeth bit down as he prepared himself for what was to come; extreme pain.

              Kageyama was soon curled up onto the floor, wailing in pain into the cloth as he pulled out feather after feather. His hands were that of a samurai’s soon enough; covered in satin red blood as he inflicted pain onto himself.

              The rich black feathers were soon in his hands, his wing feeling colder and colder by breeze that came from the door. Noise muffled by the cloth, Kageyama softly cried out in pain. It was a feeling similar to that of a thousand needles being pulled from your body; but he would endure it for the sake of the one he grew fond of.

He refused to see Kenma fade away like the autumn leaves that had soon begun to grow a shade of red similar to his blood.

* * *

"Tobio..." Kenma murmured, laying next to Kageyama's knees. Rough coughs emitting from his throat hurt Kageyama further and futher, knowing that time was running short and he needed the currency for that medicine.

He cursed the fact that he couldn't afford it, not yet.

             His scarred and dirty hands took care of both Kenma and the fabrics he created from his wings. Feathers grew back slower and slower by the day, and he knew that he didn't have any time left. These thoughts swirled around until he felt Kenma's hands hold his for a moment, stopping time.

"...Your hands...what happened to them?"

             The man swallowed the lump in his throat before Kageyama whispered an excuse, unable to meet Kenma's eyes. How could he lie, if not to hide the secret.

"Overworking..." He admitted. "But they will heal eventually. Just rest, oka-"

"Your hands, even when hurt like this..." Kenma coughed, smiling with delusions of sickness. "...they're still nice to look at."

             Kageyama froze for a moment before having his arms embrace Kenma, keeping him warm in his arms as the chill of autumn started to creep into summer days. A light sob escaped him, Kenma shocked by the sudden affection before he relaxed for a moment.

"Even if..." Kageyama choked. "Even if these hands weren't as they were, would you still love me?"

             A laugh escaped Kenma, as weak as it may be. Kageyama pulled back, wondering what kind of humor Kenma must have to laugh in this sort of situation. A light cough came soon after, Kenma attempting to feel relaxed in his arms.  
  
"Of course I would, idiot." He murmurs, closing his eyes. "Of course..." 

             Kageyama laid Kenma down, holding hands together as sleep overcame Kenma. Kageyama watched his gentle face, feeling the coldness of Kenma's hands creep into the warmth of his own. 

Time was running out... but Kageyama wished he could lay beside Kenma forever like this.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The seasons flowed   
> And the bell crickets with marked the end of summer chirped   
> "What beautiful fingers," you said, grasping my wound-filled hands   
> Those hands were much too cold...
> 
> "Someday, even if these beautiful fingers were gone,   
> would you still love me?"   
> "Of course," you replied, and as you coughed,   
> enveloped my stinging fingers with your big hands


End file.
